


Of Hereos and Fans

by Allain_Kelyarus



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Blood and Violence, Gen, Happy Ending, Hope for Gotham, motivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-22
Updated: 2018-05-22
Packaged: 2019-05-10 00:14:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14726306
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Allain_Kelyarus/pseuds/Allain_Kelyarus
Summary: On a tragic night Batman meets a little girl. Thirteen years later Bruce Wayne shakes the hand of a girl with a bright future ahead of her.





	Of Hereos and Fans

Gotham is a shitty place. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Crime and corruption run rampant and keep the city from reaching its full potential. However, even in a city some consider to be hell on earth there is still hope. One such symbol is Batman. Gotham’s very own vigilante that stalks the night and watches over the city. Mysterious and deadly he protects the innocent and deals out justice to evil doers. Or at least that’s the job on paper…

In reality Batman deals with the worst society has to offer day in and day out. He sacrifices himself so that others do not have to, but at the end of the day he is still just one man. As such he can only do so much. Only deal with so much depravity before he begins to question himself. To wonder if he truly is achieving what he set out to do or if his presence has simply made Gotham worse. On days like that it’s helpful to have people and things to turn to and remind himself that yes all of it is truly worth it. That he has helped and there is so much good still left within even a city as immoral as Gotham that he must protect.

One such reminder for Batman comes in the form of a letter he received eight months into his initial career as the Bat. He keeps it locked away in the cave and only Alfred and Jim have seen it. The former because he’s caught Bruce reading it on especially long nights that have bled into the morning literally and figuratively. While the latter was hand delivered the letter and expressly told by the writer _“It’s for Batman! Please give it to him for me.”_

It’s from a little girl he saved from being murdered one night. A serial killer had risen in Gotham and he seemed to have a penchant for the excessively bloody annihilation of families. Later investigation would provide evidence of past abuse and delinquency as a teen to be what molded him. Not everyone can be dealt the same hand in life but it’s what you do with that hand that defines you. So even though his life of crime had a reason he still needed to face justice.

Bruce remembers that night in great detail as it reminded him of his own parents’ murder. He’d heard the screams as he was perched on a rooftop overlooking the city and quickly sprung into action. Unfortunately, he was too late to stop the worst of it. He arrived at the scene of a young girl drenched in her family’s blood and cowering in a corner as the madman stalked towards her. With a bloody knife in hand, three corpses at his feet, and the crazed look in his eye that only the clinically insane hold it was like something out of a nightmare. It surely would haunt the young girls dreams for years to come.

Thankfully the man was so out of his mind so singularly focused on his self-given task that he didn’t even register Batman’s presence even as he couldn’t avoid the squelching sounds of the blood pooled on the floor as he made his way forward. He made quick work of disarming the man and knocking him unconscious as he began to scream profanities at Batman for interrupting.

After ensuring the GCPD were on the way to the scene he was left with the cowering form of a little girl who had seen something no child should ever see. He was careful in approaching her made sure she knew she was safe now and he wouldn’t hurt her. Examining her for injuries revealed only a few small scrapes she’d likely gained from running from the man. His eyes softened, and his heart clenched as he noticed the little girl had soiled herself in her fear.

While awaiting the police he did his best to shield the girl from the dead bodies of her family a few feet away. He spoke softly and did his best to calm her trembling. He asked her about herself about the things she liked and when she finally stopped shaking he returned the hug she gave him. While Batman may be the Dark Knight and strike fear into his enemies Bruce Wayne knows when that is needed and when compassion and comfort are instead.

Admittedly, after the night was over and he found the girl would go to a relative in Gotham he couldn’t let things end there. He wanted to make sure she was safe and that she wouldn’t grow letting that night define her. This desire grew when a month and a half later as Batman appeared at the call of the Bat signal Jim Gordon handed him a letter. The little girl had written him a thank you letter for not only saving her life but staying with her while waiting on the police and had drawn a picture of the two of them together smiling and holding hands in a field of flowers.

So, when thirteen years came and went, and he sat at his desk at Wayne Enterprises he was pleasantly surprised to find out that little girl from that horrendous night had earned an academic scholarship for a full ride to college through one of his scholarship programs. This program in particular was for bright young minds of Gotham that otherwise would not be able to afford the luxury of a post-secondary education.

It was with uncharacteristic nervousness that he attended the recognition ceremony for the Scholarship winners. He knew there was nothing to be nervous about since there was no way the girl would identify him but still he found himself apprehensive as he went to hand her the official award certificate and give her the standard handshake while smiling for the camera. As he shook the girl’s hand he couldn’t help but notice the simple silver bracelet around her wrist bearing Batman’s insignia.

If Bruce’s smile in that picture came out a little more genuine than the rest no one noticed.

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up turning out different than I originally expected but I'm still happy with the end result.
> 
> Please feel free to let me know what you think.


End file.
